Cannon and Ball comic star Tommy Cannon bringing Rock on Tommy UK tour to Doncaster

One half of iconic comedy duo Cannon and Ball, the star of stage and screen is heading out on the road on his Rock On Tommy tour – and will come to the Empress Building in Mexborough on Saturday 23 September.

A spokesman said: “He’s a national treasure who became a household name as one half of Cannon and Ball.

"Tommy Cannon played the straight man to the late Bobby Ball as the double act dominated prime-time TV for more than a decade.

"An actor, singer and comic, Tommy has lived an extraordinary life – most recently being lauded by rock star Robbie Williams, at a sell-out concert in Manchester.

“Now he’s returning to the stage in Rock On, Tommy, a variety show featuring clips, incredible stories, tons of laughter, audience Q&A’s and more. Fans can meet the man who has provided laughter to millions since debuting in 1968 on the talent show, Opportunity Knocks.”

Born Thomas Derbyshire in 1938, he met up with the late Bobby Ball, who died in 2020, in the early 1960s while the pair were working as welders in Oldham.

They started out as singers working the pubs and clubs of Greater Manchester and switched to comedy after being told comics earned an extra £3 a night. They continued to work as a comic duo on television and in theatre and pantomime.

In 1979, LWT offered them their own series, The Cannon and Ball Show, and further series followed each year through to 1988, along with Christmas and Easter specials, making them some of the biggest stars of the 1980s.

They were the subjects of This Is Your Life in 1981 when they were surprised by Eamonn Andrews outside the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London and in 1982, they appeared in a feature film, The Boys in Blue and in 2005, appeared as contestants in the Australian jungle, appearing on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.

Tickets are available HERE